Chapter 70 He is in a bad mood
Unable to appreciate the male lead, Zhuang Wan admired the young male. The young male on the stage shook his head and suddenly rose up, his spear hitting the ground with a "pa" sound.
At this moment, there was a commotion on the street.
Zhuang Wan stood up and walked to the south window, where she saw a group of horsemen passing through the street. These men wore armor and had long swords, holding high their tokens as they rushed towards the palace.
Pedestrians on the roadside gave way one after another, causing people and horses to fall to the ground.
"What's the rush?"
"I don't know, it looks like it's not simple." One person said, "The last time I saw it was when we attacked Changguo."
When Zhuang Wan heard this, her eyelids twitched inexplicably and she felt a little panicked.
She subconsciously turned her head to look for him, and suddenly met Pei Xingju's gaze.
Pei Xingju arrived at the door of her private room without her knowing.
"You don't have to wait for me," he said. "I want to go to the palace."
He looked suspicious, as if something big had happened.
Zhuang Wan didn't dare ask any more questions and nodded quickly and said "OK".
.
Raindrops drifted down the courtyard, bringing cool breezes. The sound of abacus beads twitching could be heard continuously in the quiet osmanthus courtyard.
Inside, Qiu Tan sat at the table, working on the abacus. She'd been busy managing the shop lately, and her first priority was learning to keep track of the accounts. The old shopkeeper had taught her a method for counting beads, and she'd spent the entire afternoon happily working on them.
The clattering of the abacus beads seemed to echo the raindrops falling on the corridor.
But Zhuang Wan had no intention of appreciating this artistic conception. She was absent-mindedly lying on the other end of the table, reading a book.
She didn't know how long it had been, but when she heard the maid outside say that Pei Xingju had returned, she sat up straight.
After a moment, he pretended to be calm and asked, "Lixia, is your master back?"
"Miss, you are back, and here come several officials from the court."
"oh."
Zhuang Wan continued reading, but this time she couldn't concentrate. She had a premonition that something big was about to happen in the court, and this premonition made her inexplicably uneasy.
After thinking for a while, she ordered: "Qiutan, stop playing with the beads and go see if there is anything else to eat in the kitchen."
There was a lot of noise in the front yard and the study.
"The south has been peaceful for so many years, why did Japanese pirates suddenly appear?"
"The Japanese pirates are disturbing the territory and the war has started again. Now, the Hou party is satisfied."
"Warfare requires military pay, and the Ministry of Revenue is in the hands of Duke Xin. If the Emperor wants to win this war, he has to rely on him to raise military pay. Therefore, the issue of Hezhou's private tax collection cannot be investigated any further."
"How could this happen at such a critical moment?"
"It's no coincidence. Ten years ago, Japanese pirates were rampant along the coast, often appearing in June and July to harass the people of Dazhao. General Liao fought for a long time, which brought peace to the border for ten years. I didn't expect them to make a comeback."
"I think this matter is not simple."
"How do you say that?"
"The messenger didn't provide details about the situation regarding the Japanese pirates' disturbances. The Ministry of War hastily advocated sending troops to suppress the pirates before the situation is clear, which seems to be a cover-up."
"You mean, the Japanese pirates' disturbance was intentional?"
After he finished speaking, the room became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Zhuang Wan stood outside the door, holding the things in her hands, not knowing whether to go in or out, and was shocked.
If the Japanese pirate incident was intentional, that would be blatant collaborating with the enemy.
After a while, Pei Xingju's voice came from inside: "What's wrong? Just a guess, and you're so scared?"
"Yet you are horrified by just guessing and imagining it, but in this world, there are people who are extremely evil, committing murder and arson."
No one dared to respond.
It was obvious that Pei Xingju was in a bad mood today.
Regardless of whether the Japanese pirates' disturbances were intentional or not, they were a fact, and war was inevitable. However, once war broke out, the Hezhou tax issue would be abandoned. Pei Xingju's chess game, which had cost countless manpower to plan, was destroyed in an instant. Who wouldn't be furious?
"Master Pei, we are good and loyal ministers. Naturally, we dare not think about or do such evil things."
After that, the room fell silent again.
Chen Yi tried to smooth things over: "Never mind, I'm afraid we won't be able to discuss anything today. It's getting late, so let's go home. We'll discuss tomorrow's affairs in court tomorrow."
After everyone left, Shen Yi stayed.
He glanced at Pei Xingju, whose brows were gloomy, and said, "I know you are very angry now. Back then, Duke Xin used such despicable means to force..."
Others found it difficult to understand, and simply thought that Pei Xingju and Duke Xin had political disagreements and wanted to use the Hezhou incident to bring down the Ministry of Revenue. But he knew why Pei Xingju was angry.
"What's your plan next?" Shen Yi asked.
Pei Xingju put down the document in his hand and said, "I have different aspirations and ideas from them. They want to be good ministers and be remembered in history. Little do they know that since ancient times, the loyal and good cannot defeat the evil. The only one who can defeat the evil is someone more evil than the evil."
Shen Yi was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly.
Pei Xingju walked this road alone, but he knew it was destined to be this way since his family was destroyed.
In the silence, he caught a glimpse of a furtive figure outside the door and immediately shouted as if he had seen a savior: "Miss Zhuang is here?"
Seeing Pei Xingju's unhappy face, Zhuang Wan planned to sneak away, but she never expected to be discovered by Chen Yi.
She had no choice but to turn around and said, "Master Shen, I'm here to bring you some food."
Chen Yi stood up: "I'm hungry, let me see what you made."
He stepped forward to take Zhuang Wan's plate, praising her with exaggerated expression, "Miss Zhuang's cooking is truly excellent. These crystal buns are so small and attractive, and even the patterns on them are unique. If you were to open a restaurant, you would steal all the business in the capital."
"Guard Lu?" He called out, "You're in for a treat! Let's go to the side hall and have our meal."
Guard Lu said honestly: "Sir Shen, I am still on duty."
Chen Yi desperately winked at him: "Even if you're on duty, you have to eat enough. Come on, come on, stay with me."
Unfortunately, Guard Lu was blind and didn't understand what he meant. He just kept saying, "Master Shen, your subordinates are not allowed to do this while they are on duty..."
Before he could finish his words, Chen Yi stuffed a mouthful of steamed bun into his mouth and dragged him away. Zhuang Wan and Pei Xingju were the only ones left in the study.
Zhuang Wan: “…”
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